Lingering Doubts
by AnimeWolfGirl9
Summary: Takes place after the end of the second game. The darkness that Etro had been holding back has been released, leaving Noel, Hope, and the others on the New Cocoon and in Pulse in darkness, making Noel wonder if the promise that Yeul had made to him was going to come true after all. Noel X Yeul
1. Lingering Doubts

Welcome to the first chapter of "Lingering Doubts"! This is a Noel X Yeul fanfiction (with possibly a bit of Noel X Serah mentioned) and it is continuous (sometimes I wonder what I get myself into when I make so many continuous fanfictions). This is the semi-sequel to my One-shot "The Only Thing that Mattered". I just thought you would like to know that but don't worry, it is recommended that you read it sometime but you don't really have to considering that it doesn't really have that much spoilers and stuff in it. Either way, I hope you enjoy!

**Disclaimer:** **I do not own any of the characters/places/etc. for Final Fantasy XIII/XIII-2. Everything belongs to its owners.**

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Chapter 1: Lingering Doubts

Darkness was all he could see, but then again, that was becoming more common with each passing day. Chaos had been released into the world a little bit over two weeks ago and since that day, the darkness had been growing. Caius was dead, probably being the cause of the whole mess.

_No,_ he thought, _it's all my fault. I shouldn't have killed him. I should have been able to stop him. If I would have, Serah wouldn't have…_

Noel brought his hand down angrily on the metal table in front of him, not being able to finish his thoughts.

"Sometimes, I think you could cause an earthquake in Pulse and bring down Cocoon with that hand," a voice said from behind him.

"Hope…" he started angrily, even though his friend was only trying to help.

"I know," Hope stated as he came to sit beside Noel, "but listen Noel, not everything is your fault."

Noel sighed, knowing that his friend was right, but some part of him didn't want to admit it; the part known as pride.

"I just wish I could have been able to save her…" Noel trailed off. Hope nodded, completely understanding what his friend was going through.

"So, how are you doing settling in? Is everything ok so far?" Hope asked, changing the subject.

Noel looked over at his silver haired friend, saddened to see that the same grief and compassion that he was feeling was reflected in his friend's blue eyes.

"Yeah, everything's fine so far. Thanks for letting me stay here," Noel said, trying to forget about what was always on his mind; for Hope's sake at least.

"That's good. And don't think you are being a burden, because you're not," Hope stated, almost reading Noel's mind.

"I know, but there are so many other people that need your help that I just…" Noel started but trailed off, not sure of what to say. He looked down at the ground, the events of what had happened since he left his dying world now invading his mind again. The memories stopped when he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Noel, I know that there are a lot of people who need taken care of, especially now, but you are one of those people too, ok?" Hope said encouragingly before leaving the room.

Noel smiled a bit, remembering all of the tales he had heard from some of the people now taking residence in the New Cocoon about how Hope was now living up to his namesake; him now finding the talks very true.

His thoughts drifted back to before his adventure with Serah had begun, back to when he was in the dying world.

He should have known that something was wrong from the day that Caius had started to train him to become Yeul's new guardian. He hadn't known it until months later, but Caius never told him that Yeul could only have one guardian. Yeul had told him that bit of information; she had probably guessed that Caius hadn't told him yet and wanted to spare him of being lied to.

The day he found out that he would have to kill Caius to become Yeul's new guardian, things were never the same between him and his 'mentor'. Caius became more easily aggravated and pushed him to his limits on more than one occasion, taunting him that he needed to get better.

He knew now that Caius was probably only trying to get Noel to have a grudge on him or something so that it would be easier to kill his mentor, but that was never the case.

Noel knew that he would have never been able to kill Caius intentionally, that it was all an accident.

Sometimes he woke up at night, thinking that everything was a dream up until now. That would all change when he would head over to the closed window and pull back the blinds, seeing the darkness that was Chaos that lurked outside.

He would then get frustrated over what had happened and be in a raging fit for hours until he had exhausted himself to sleep fitfully.

He thought again of how Caius would continually tell him that he would have to kill him, no matter what.

_What could he have possibly gained from that?_ Noel thought as he sighed.

Back when he had been in the dying world, he had talked with Yeul about these things. She had never told him the answer if she knew, but Noel didn't hold it against her. She was the only friend outside of Caius he had known back then; by that time, most of the population had already died out.

Noel walked over to the window that he had during the nights he had woken up, staring out at the darkness.

A bit of frustration and anger hit him, but it vanished quickly with what he thought about next.

Yeul had been with him on the journey; he knew that he felt her presence. She had promised him that she would see him again, but he didn't know when that would be. For all he knew, it could be years from now or when he finally died at the end of his life.

He exhaled through his nose slowly, trying to make sense of the whole thing, but the more he thought about it, the more confused he became.

_Yeul…_ he thought with sadness, _are some promises just meant to be broken?_

* * *

So, how was that? I know it's a bit short, but the next chapter will be out soon. This was sort of like an introduction/recap chapter. I hope that I'm not going out of character too much, but please tell me if I am and I will try and fix it as best as I can. Also, this sort of created more of a backstory will Noel since not much was shown about his past before Final Fantasy XIII-2 started. One more thing, I might not update this as much since I have my other fanfictions to update, but please don't let that discourage you (I will be finishing "El Traicion" soon so that can give me more time to work on this)! The next chapter will be out soon! I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review!

-AnimeWolfGirl9


	2. Confusing Discoveries

**AnimeWolfGirl16:** Thanks! I was worried that I was going out of boundaries with their characteristics (but there might be a bit of that in this chapter). Thanks once again and welcome!

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Chapter 2: Confusing Discoveries

_What was he trying to achieve?_ Noel thought with frustration as he paced around the room.

He knew that Hope would be staring at him strangely by the way he was acting, but something had been bothering him lately.

"Noel, are you feeling ok?" Hope asked him a few moments later, worry evident on his friend's face.

"Yes, I'm fine, just trying to remember something," Noel stated as he continued to walk in circles.

"Do you always pace the floor when you are trying to remember something?" Hope asked him with amused curiosity in his voice.

"No," Noel answered truthfully, "but I'll start today."

He heard Hope laugh a bit as his friend exited the room; hopefully he wasn't going to share that bit of information with someone.

Noel sighed as he sat down in the chair next to where Hope had been; not quite understanding what was bothering him. The only thing he knew was that whatever it was was important.

Feeling annoyed at his memory, he got up and continued to pace the floor, hoping that doing so again would help to make him remember what he had dreamed of last night.

_Why is it that when dreams actually matter, I can't remember them?_ Noel thought with frustration as he continued to pace. Then he thought of something: he didn't know where Hope had gone.

_Might as well go find him,_ Noel thought as he walked out into the hall. Looking down the expanse of the hallway, he wondered how in the world he was going to find out where Hope went.

He decided to wait for a bit longer and went back into the room, sitting back down.

_Why does Hope need to disappear when I need him most?_ Noel thought with a sigh, continuing to try and think of his dream.

He could only remember bits and pieces of it. He knew three people were there with him, but he couldn't remember who. Only different colors blended into his now hazy memory: purple, white, and pink.

_Or was it yellow? Or possibly red?_ Noel thought with confusion. He gripped at his hair, angered at how fuzzy his memory now seemed to be.

_Maybe it's been slowly declining since I left the Dying World,_ Noel guessed, _or maybe it was even before that._

His mind reeled backwards, forcing him to remember all of the unpleasant times in the Dying World. Even though he remembered it all, his mind sent him back further, back to when he was younger.

* * *

_ The screams of the dying were becoming very familiar to a six year old Noel, but even though he was used to hearing them, they still frightened him, haunted his dreams._

_ The people who lived in the small area had been slowly dying, and Noel found that even in his small lifespan so far, that he would have to be as strong as he could for everyone._

_ Most of the other people that lived in the area that he lived in, as well as the surrounding areas, were older people, much older than himself._

_ Noel knew that he needed to respect his elders, as his mother had often told him, but it would have been nice to have a few more kids his age. _

_His mother had told him that the amount of kids being born was declining each year, but Noel didn't really want to think about statistics; they seemed a bit too much for his six year old mind to handle._

_Noel shook his head and focused on carrying in the two small potatoes into the house, where his mother was cooking. He sniffed the air, smiling when he realized that his mother was stirring soup._

_Seeing Noel come in, his mother started to smile at him._

"_Are you happy if we have soup tonight?" his mother asked in a gentle tone._

"_Yep," Noel answered happily as he put the potatoes in a basket on the floor. He looked back at his mother, taking in how pretty she looked today._

_She had light brown hair that was pulled back into a loose ponytail that was now draped over one shoulder. She was also wearing a tattered green dress with no shoes. Noel quickly smiled down at his own bare feet before going to hug his mother's legs._

"_You look really pretty today, mommy," Noel said with a childish smile. His mother smiled down at him._

"_Why thank you sweetie," she said as she gently ruffled his brown hair. There was a light tap on the door frame and Noel turned around, seeing his friend, Silven._

"_Hi Miss. Rosanne," Silven said politely, "can Noel come play with Ivan and me?"_

_Noel looked up at his mother expectantly. He rarely got to play with Silven and Ivan, but when he did, it was tons of fun. Ivan was one year older than Noel, and Silven was the oldest out of the three, being eight._

"_Sure, Silven," his mother answered before playfully shooing Noel off, "you can go play with Silven and Ivan until dinner is ready, Noel."_

_Noel nodded his head and ran out the door, stopping to high five Silven. He looked around for Ivan, but didn't see him._

"_Where's Ivan?" Noel asked Silven as they started to walk. He looked over at his friend, then scanning the streets for his friend's blonde haired brother. Silven looked over at him, brown eyes flashing with enthusiasm._

"_Ivan went ahead, thinking that your mother might not let you go so easily, especially if she knew where we were going," Silven said with a mischievous grin on his face._

"_Where are we going?" Noel asked, curiosity making its way into his limbs, making him want to let it all out at once. Silven stopped and then leaned in near Noel's face, waiting a moment for a dramatic pause._

"_Dead Man's Peak," Silven whispered mysteriously. Noel felt an involuntary shudder pass through him despite the excitement he felt._

"_We had better continue before Ivan gets too far ahead of us," Silven said as they continued to walk towards the edge of the town, "he said he would wait, but you know how he is."_

_Noel nodded, a question born out of excitement rising in his head. He waited until they were out of the town to ask._

"_Silven?" he asked to make sure that the older boy was listening._

"_Yeah?" Silven answered as he glanced at Noel._

"_Can you tell me the story of how Dead Man's Peak got its name?" Noel asked, feeling kind of selfish. He had already heard the story many times before, but he always got a thrill of excitement when he heard it, especially the way that Silven could narrate it._

"_Sure," Silven answered with a smirk on his face, then going into the story, "Dead Man's Peak was created just after the fall of Cocoon."_

_Noel nodded, remembering how, when he was old enough, that his mother had told him of the fall of Cocoon and how it had killed many people on the now fallen Planet as well as down in Pulse._

"_The few survivors, both from Pulse and Cocoon, teamed up and went searching through the land for a place to settle, especially since there were still creatures prowling the grounds," Silven said, "they found an overhang that had been made by the winds that had struck when Cocoon fell."_

_To prove his point, Silven made an overhang with him one arm and let imaginary people walk under it._

"_They took shelter from the strong winds, each forming its own side along the overhang. They stayed well away from each other, forming groups at each side, because the rift between their people still stood strong," Silven continued, making Noel able to imagine the scene in his head, "Tensions were high, and one day, the some men from the two sides battled, but they died, bursting into flames until there was nothing but ashes left. After that, the remaining people began to see shapes of the 'flame people', or spirits that had died during the time Cocoon fell, taking revenge on those who had survived, until no one was left. The only proof of their existence was the ashes that were carried on the winds."_

_Noel had heard everything, including the ending, before, but another question crossed his mind._

"_If everyone was dead, then how do we exist?" Noel asked, for once pondering their very existence. Silven looked over at him with a bit of surprise._

"_Your mother hasn't told you?" Silven asked and at a shake of the head from Noel, he sighed._

"_Well, even though we are almost there, I guess I can tell you," Silven said, continuing his story telling, but the only difference was that Noel had never heard this part of the story._

"_Etro the goddess took pity on those that had been unjustly killed because of the dead ones evil spirits. She formed the ashes into a new generation, taking care to give some of them special powers to guide the new generation from future destruction," Silven said, mystifying Noel._

"_What kind of powers?" he asked, eyes wide at this new part of the story._

"_Etro gave one person in particular the power to see the future," Silven said, "and her name was Yeul."_

"_Yeul," Noel repeated and a fuzzy feeling went through him. Then he realized something, "wait, isn't Yeul the name of the Paddra seeress from a long time ago?"_

"_Yes, but if you remember, they got wiped out a long time ago," Silven said, "This Yeul was new, being reincarnated with all of her memories."_

_Noel found the story interesting but he didn't quite understand._

"_But why is this Yeul connected to Dead Man's Peak?" Noel asked. Silven looked at him as if he was the dumbest person in the world._

"_They say that this Yeul still exists, even today," Silven said, making Noel shudder, "it is said that you can only be saved from the flames by her."_

_Noel was about to comment more, but Silven interrupted him by pointing at something._

"_Look, Noel," Silven said excitedly, "we're here!"_

_Noel looked to where Silven was pointed and saw that they were standing at the edge of the overhang. Excitement as well as fear filled him._

"_Ivan, we're here," Silven shouted into the air. When he received no answer, Noel started to get worried. But Silven didn't seem to notice._

"_He probably went ahead," Silven said as he started to climb down the rocks towards the ground, "Let's go."_

_Noel was about to follow, but he stopped dead in his tracks when an ear-splitting scream filled the air. He looked over and saw Silven pale, apparently looking at something in the distance._

_Noel was about to wonder what, but he was answered when Silven shouted,_

"_Ivan!"_

_Noel whipped his head around to look at where Ivan was supposed to be, but he wished he hadn't. Where his friend was, a burning black body was engulfed in flames, the screaming of Ivan coming from it._

"_Ivan!" Silven screamed again. Noel felt like he should scream, but he couldn't. Instead, he felt words come out of his mouth._

"_Those of the cursed shall be engulfed in flame," Noel said calmly, as if the words he were speaking were not his own, "Those who have defiled this land shall burn."_

_He felt as if the words coming from his mouth would go on, but he saw Silven look over at his in fear._

"_Noel…" Silven started in fear, which then turned to all out screaming as his friend ran down the mountain to where his brother's body was burning, "You're the one! She's chosen you!"_

_Noel watched in fear as his friend went down to wear the burning body was, only for Silven to be engulfed in flame as well; the screams of both of them making his heart stop._

* * *

Noel willed himself to stop remembering as he whispered,

"Those of the cursed shall be engulfed in flame. Those who have defiled this land shall burn."

Repeating the words he had said centuries ago made a shiver through him, almost as if he were reliving it.

"Noel, are you ok?" he felt a hand on his shoulder and sat up in surprise. He looked over, thinking for a moment that he saw Silven, but he was relieved when he saw that it was only Hope.

"Um, yeah I'm fine," Noel said uncertainly as he stood up, trying to rid the rest of the memory from his mind.

"Are you sure? You were breathing really heavy and looked really pale," Hope said in concern, "Maybe I should go get…"

"No," Noel interrupted before his friend could continue, "I'm fine. Really."

"Ok then," Hope said uncertainly, "I'm going to stay with you though, in case it happens again."

"Ok," Noel said as he sat back down, suddenly feeling very winded.

"So, did you find what you were trying to remember?" Hope asked, trying to change the subject.

"No, not yet," Noel said as he stared at the wall.

_Only something worse,_ he thought with a hint of sadness.

Hope seemed to pick up on his change in mood and sat silently beside him, apparently lost in his own thoughts.

Noel thought to beyond that, to when he had begun training with Caius and all that had happened after, stopping at the moment before he had gone through the Time Gate.

_Caius,_ Noel thought, _Caius wanted me to kill him, but Yeul knew that he was going into the Time Gate._

He stopped suddenly, thinking he had found something.

_No, he couldn't have…_

"I found it!" Noel exclaimed while jumping up from his seat, scaring Hope who had begun to doze.

"Found what?" Hope asked at first, but then he seemed to remember, "Oh, you found it!"

"Yes!" Noel said as he now started to pace the room again, "I finally understand now, Hope!"

"Ok…" Hope seemed to be lost, but Noel couldn't blame him.

"Caius, he must have known that Serah and I were going to go on our journey to stop him even before he went through the Time Gate," Noel tried explaining.

"What?" Hope asked, apparently not getting anywhere.

"I remembered something," Noel explained, "sometime while on our journey, I remembered that Serah told me that the clothes she had on then were not what she had went to sleep in when I appeared through the Time Gate."

"Ok, go on…" Hope said, finally appearing to get somewhere.

"So Caius must have known that we would be going on our journey," Noel felt like he should get the whole thing out, "that's why he wanted me to kill him."

At his last statement, Hope seemed puzzled again, and that was hard to except since the kid was beyond genius.

"Meaning?" Hope asked, now genuinely lost.

"Meaning, that if I would have killed Caius to become Yeul's guardian, it would have killed Etro. That would have then eliminated the possibility of us defeating him," Noel said, making Hope get somewhere again.

"Ok, I think I get what you mean," Hope said as he now started to pace the floor, "so Caius must have had an ulterior motive…"

Noel, with as happy as he was feeling, started to laugh at his friend. Hope looked over at him with a questioning look on his face.

"What?" Hope asked, making Noel laugh even harder.

"'Do you always pace the floor when you are trying to remember something?'" Noel copied Hope's earlier statement between his laughs. Hope, finally understanding what he had been doing, started laughing as well.

"See, we are both bad examples for each other," Noel said as the both of them laughed.

"I'm already picking up your habits," Hope stated when he had been able to control some of his laughing. Noel suddenly stopped, feeling the weight of his earlier memory, and excused himself to his room.

_I should probably get some rest,_ Noel said as he closed the door and lay down on the bed, but he knew that even if he managed to fall asleep, his nightmares wouldn't let him savor an ounce of it.

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Just to let you know, the flashbacks that Noel is going to begin to have (like the one seen in this chapter) are all made up, as well as they will reveal more of his unexplained past; just thought that you would like to know that. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review!

-AnimeWolfGirl9


	3. The Way We Met

**AnimeWolfGirl16:** Thanks! I had so much fun writing it! Although the flashbacks aren't over, so I hope you like the other ones as well!

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Chapter 3: The Way We Met

_He knew his heart had stopped for a beat or two; that much he could tell. He continued to stare at the scene before him, his two best friends burning alive. Feeling completely hopeless, he sat down on the ground, letting tears flow from his eyes._

_ "Noel!" he heard an alarmed shout from behind him. He turned his head and quickly saw his mom, but then he whipped it back around when more screams from his friends came._

_ "Noel, are you ok?" his mother asked him while putting her arms around him and pulling him in for a hug. No matter how much he tried, he couldn't get his friends' screams out of his head._

_ The rest of their town had surrounded them, some tried to help, but they were burned too, adding to the rotting smell that filled his nose._

_ "Silven, Ivan," Noel whispered, but then it turned into full blown screaming, "Silven! Ivan!"_

_ He ripped himself from his mother's embrace and ran towards his burning friends, their bodies among others that were scorched. The words that he had just said came back to him as he stared at their bodies._

_ He heard moaning voices from around him, felt the heat from the flames. He started to whimper, fearing that he would meet the same fate as his friends._

_ "No…" he whispered with tears in his eyes, "No!"_

_ He saw what Silven had been talking about earlier; the flames took shape of each of the ones who were scorched before. He saw the shapes of Silven and Ivan come near him, the bodies of flame surrounding him in a circle._

_ "Silven! Ivan!" Noel shouted frantically as the tears fell at seeing his friends, "Don't you recognize me?"_

_ He grew frantic again as the shapes came closer. He went over to where his friends' bodies were lying, now still on the ground._

_ "Silven, Ivan," he started to say while putting his hands on their bodies, but he cringed back when he felt his hands burn. He glanced down at his hands and saw that they were now red from the heat of the fire._

_ The flame creatures were almost upon his now, and Noel truly felt that he was going to die._

_ "Yeul, help me!" he shouted out suddenly, afraid that the legend was not true and that he was going to die. He curled up into a ball on the ground, waiting for the flames to engulf him._

_ Instead of the scorching heat, he heard something instead. It was soft at first, but then it grew louder. Noel then realized that it was singing._

_ He opened his eyes and looked in front of him, seeing that the flames were in a wall around him, but they had stopped their advance. They suddenly parted, making room for someone to walk through._

_ Noel felt his breath go out of him when he saw that a girl was walking towards him. She looked to be the one singing, the words being some ancient tune that he could not understand. _

_ The girl looked to be about a year younger than him, but what surprised him was the knowledge in her eyes. She had pale skin, light green eyes, and what looked to be silver hair, but Noel knew better knowing that it was actually similar to sterling blue. _

_The girl had a vale over her face, her hair was pulled up in the back by what looked to be a headband, and she was wearing clothes that Noel had never seen before._

_ He didn't have any more time to ponder on her appearance because she was sitting right in front of him, her legs underneath her._

_ As the girl continued her song, the flames seemed to grow almost friendly towards him, bathing him and the girl in warmth._

_ Noel stared into her eyes, knowing that he had not heard a prettier song nor seen a prettier girl in all the six years he had been living._

_ Her song stopped all of a sudden, and Noel heard the girl speak._

_ "You are fine now," she said in a near whisper. Noel found her voice almost like it was a lullaby, just like the song she had been singing._

_ Then something struck in his memory, something that Silven had said right before they came to Dead Man's Peak._

_ "They say that this Yeul still exists, even today. It is said that you can only be saved from the flames by her." The words rang clear in his memory._

_ "You're…" Noel started to say, but stopped when the girl put a finger to her lips._

_ "You are fine now," the girl said as she started to get up, "I will be waiting."_

_ "Wait!" he shouted as he reached a hand to try and stop the girl, but she was already walking away; her song continuing and into his heart._

_ He then heard a voice calling to him._

_ "Noel!" he recognized the voice to be his mother's. _

_The next thing he knew, he was being carried by his mother and away from the scene, the flames dying down._

_ Noel looked back to see if the girl was there, but he didn't see her, making him wonder if he had been dreaming. But he knew he hadn't, just by the last words the girl had said to him._

_ "Mommy," Noel whispered from the position in his mother's arms. She looked down at him for a moment, but her attention was brought away from him by the village doctor talking to her._

_ "He's lucky to have gotten out of there alive," the village doctor said, not knowing that Noel was listening, "he only has inhaled a bit of smoke and his hands are scorched, but other than that, he should be fine."_

_ When the village doctor had gone away, Noel wanted to get his mother's attention again._

_ "Mommy," Noel said in a whisper, now realizing how much his throat hurt._

_ "Shh, Noel, sleep until we get home, alright?" his mother said, "You are fine now."_

_ He remembered that Yeul had said something similar and nodded, closing his eyes and resting till he got home._

_ Noel was roused by his mother gently touching him. He felt his bed sheets that he was lying on by the coolness of their touch._

_ "Noel, honey, drink this," his mother whispered gently as she handed him a bowl. Whatever was in the bowl slid down his sore throat and seemed to cleanse it a bit. He sat up when he was done, and that's when he realized that a semi-wet cloth fell from his forehead._

_ "You have a bit of a fever," his mother said as she motioned for him to lie down, "get some rest now, ok? You will be better in the morning."_

_ "Mommy," Noel whispered, wanting to tell her before he fell asleep._

_ "What is it, sweetie?" his mother asked in a gentle tone._

_ "It was Yeul. She saved me," Noel said. His mother gave him a concerned look._

_ "Honey, it must be a figment of your imagination," his mother said gently, "Yeul lived a long time ago."_

_ "No, I saw her. She talked to me. And she was singing this pretty song," Noel said as he started to yawn, "And she said that she would be waiting for me."_

_ "Get some rest now Noel," his mother said as she blew out the candle, "I will see you in the morning."_

* * *

Noel quickly sat up in bed, taking deep breaths and trying to get his eyes adjusted to the dark. He felt a cloth fall off of his head, just like in his dream, and he realized that the window near the bed was open.

"Noel, are you ok now?" he heard a voice ask him.

* * *

Sorry that this chapter was shorter, but I wanted to be able to get the next one out soon, plus the next chapter is going to be sort of a funny kind of part in the beginning. Don't worry though, there is going to be some important aspects revealed next chapter! Also, I'm sorry if some of you were disappointed since this chapter was a flashback, but trust me, it's important for later. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review!

-AnimeWolfGirl9


	4. The Genius of Hope

**AnimeWolfGirl16:** Haha I know! When I started writing that, I actually forgot he was six for the moment! :)

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Chapter 4: The Genius of Hope

At first, Noel thought that Yeul was talking to him.

"Yeul?" he asked, wondering if he was imagining things. But he was more than surprised when he saw what he thought to be Yeul turn into Hope.

"Wow, you are more out of it than I thought. It's me, Noel," Hope said as Noel realized that a light was on.

"Oh, Hope," Noel started, feeling somewhat awkward at the situation he was in.

"Noel?" Hope asked with a concerned but serious look on his face.

"What?" Noel asked, somewhat feeling embarrassed; that, and his head and throat felt like they were on fire.

"Can I ask you a serious question?" Hope asked.

"Sure," Noel said, knowing that he would have smiled if he could.

"Were you dreaming about the Paddra seeress?" Hope said as he started to smile when Noel gave a horrified look.

"What?" Noel asked, wondering if his hearing was messed up too.

"Well you did call me Yeul…" Hope stated, but he stopped when Noel started to cough, "Here Noel, this should help."

Noel looked up to see that Hope was holding out a bowl, very similar to the one that had been in his dream. Acting on impulse, Noel quickly knocked the bowl out of Hope's hands, which then spilled and hit the wall with a clatter.

"You're not my mom!" Noel shouted, but then realized what he had done as he stared at the confused look on Hope's face.

"Um, yeah, I'm not your mom. Are you…?" Hope started to ask, but then he stopped, shaking his head, "Never mind, I shouldn't even ask."

"Sorry," Noel mumbled, feeling kind of bad for blowing up at his friend like that, "Here, I'll help clean it up."

Hope put his hand up to block Noel from moving.

"Noel, you shouldn't be doing anything when you are as sick as you are. You have a fever and you were coughing in your sleep. Just lie back down and I'll clean it up, ok?" Hope said while going to clean up the mess. Noel shook his head, not wanting Hope to have to do all the work.

"It was the smoke from the flames, ok?" Noel stated before looking back at his friend, who now had a confused look on his face.

"What?" Hope asked him.

"I'm going for a walk," Noel stated quickly while trying to get up.

"Noel, lie back down," Hope commanded while pointing to the bed. Noel shook his head quickly.

"Hope…" Noel started, but he stopped when he heard a clambering noise and heard Hope start to speak.

"Noel, don't touch the floor or it will shock you," Hope stated, making Noel glance up to see that his friend was standing on a chair, looking to be typing something into a keypad.

"What are you…?" Noel started to ask, but he stopped when he heard a popping and sizzling sound, followed by a burning smell.

Both Hope and him had a questioning look on their faces, and Noel was wondering what his friend was so surprised about.

Looking over to where the food was splattered on the wall and floor, Noel saw that there was electric sparks coming out of the floor.

Glancing quickly down at his own feet, which were almost touching the floor, he brought them back up to the bed in surprise when sparks touched the floor there too.

"Ok, I didn't mean for the food to do that, but I guess it was a good illustration," Hope stated from him place on top of the chair.

"Hope, this really isn't fair," Noel said as he sat on the bed, wondering how he was ever going to convince his friend that he was fine.

"I wouldn't be doing this if you weren't being so stubborn about resting," Hope said as he shook his head.

"As if you aren't stubborn in your own ways," Noel grumbled as he plopped down onto the bed. He heard Hope laugh a bit, but other than that and the sound of sparks coming from the floor, there were no other sounds.

_How am I going to get out now? I practically feel like I'm in bedroom confinement here. I mean, when does Hope ever have the time to come up with these things?_ Noel wondered, but then he had an idea.

"Hey, Hope?" Noel asked, trying to keep the smirk he was feeling at his plan off of his face.

"Yeah, Noel?" Hope asked, obviously not knowing what was coming.

_I almost feel sorry for him,_ Noel thought with a shake of his head, _but then again, he is locking me in my room against my will._

"How long did it take you to make this one up?" Noel asked, not able to keep the smile off of his face any longer.

"Not that long," Hope said absentmindedly while avoiding eye contact.

"So it's perfectly safe unless _I_ touch the floor," Noel stated, staring at his friend now.

"Well, yes," Hope said, returning his gaze to the keypad he had been typing in earlier.

"So it's safe even if _you _touch the floor," Noel said, motioning to the electric sparks coming up from the floor. Hope glanced down at the floor and then back at him, a bored look on his face.

"Seriously, Noel, I know what you're up to," Hope stated, not moving an inch from the chair.

"You do?" Noel asked, sitting up on the bed.

"Yes," Hope said and then went into an explanation, "you want me to touch the floor and pass out from the electric entering my system. Then you could make your escape. Is that correct?"

"How can you read me like an open book?" Noel asked as he plopped back down onto the bed, staring at the door.

"That's kind of rude, Noel," Hope stated with a sigh. Noel glanced over at Hope.

"Well, I bet you were hoping that would happen to me," he said, returning his gaze to the closed door.

"I wasn't hoping," Hope said with a sigh, "I was using it as a precaution."

Noel was going to say something else, but something caught his attention. He stared at the bottom of the door, seeing sparks run under it and into the hall.

"So, Hope," he started with a smile, "since you took _so_ much time on inventing this electric floor, there is no bugs, right?"

"Yes, there are no bugs," Hope said as he stared at him skeptically. This only wanted to make Noel smile more.

"Are you sure? 'Cause I see sparks running under the door," Noel said as he pointed to the door leading to the hallway.

"What?" Hope asked him, looking like he wasn't going to believe him; that was, until they both heard zapping noises in the hallway. Hope's eyes widened and Noel felt like he would have burst out laughing if he had more time.

Hope leaned over and stuck his head through the door. Seeing some of the staff passed out on the floor made him hurriedly shut off the electric flooring with the keypad.

"This is what I get when I make something up on a 2-second basis," Hope muttered, looking back up at the bed.

"Noel!" Hope shouted when he realized that his friend was no longer on the bed. Hope got down off of the chair and went over to the open window, wishing he would have closed it before turning off the electric flooring.

"Not again," he muttered, knowing that he wouldn't be able to find Noel out in the darkness at night.

* * *

Haha, bedroom confinement makes a return (you would get that if you read my other fanfiction, Haunting Past). So, like I said in the last author's note, this was more of a fun chapter. It also alludes to what happens at the start of Chapter 5, so it was important. Although now we know how long it can take Hope to plan something. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review!

-AnimeWolfGirl9


	5. Illusions

**AnimeWolfGirl16: **Haha I know! I just couldn't resist putting that in! And I'm not sure yet, but I'm hoping to put them in since at the end of the second game, Hope ended up rescuing them from the pillar before Cocoon collapsed, so I think they will make a return sometime soon.

* * *

Chapter 5: Illusions

Noel now knew that he was lucky the window had been open prior to his escape.

As soon as he had cleared the window and started running, he heard Hope's voice come from the direction he had run from.

_Still, he won't be able to find me when it's this dark out,_ Noel thought as he ran.

He stopped for a moment, looking around and realizing that he didn't have any idea where he was.

_At least I didn't fall off of New Cocoon,_ Noel thought with a shake of his head, thinking that he should have planned this better.

He took a deep breath, only to start coughing again because of the darkness entering his lungs along with his burning throat.

_Feels like the fire all over again,_ Noel thought as he tried to still his coughing while somewhat pleading that his memories would not invade his mind this time. He had already had enough of living in the past.

Lucky for him, the memories did not come this time, so he was free to think of other things.

As he continued to run, he realized that he had no idea where he was going.

"Why didn't I think this through more?" he wondered as he shook his head, thinking about just staying still.

_Just go a little more, _a voice inside him said, _go a little more._

So that is what he continued to do until his lungs felt like they were about to burst. Breathing heavily, he sat down on the ground and realized that he was near an artificial pond.

Drawing closer to it, Noel was still fascinated about how Hope could make these things. Since the construction of the New Cocoon and the now-delay because of the darkness, Hope had needed to resort to making artificial objects.

_That's probably how he came up with the electric floor so fast,_ Noel thought as he stared at the water.

He knew that it was actually clear, but the darkness made the water reflect almost black, making him barely able to see his reflection.

_It's so strange. The more I think about this whole journey, the more confusing it gets,_ Noel thought with a shake of his head, _how did we fail?_

"You didn't," a soft voice stated, making Noel whip his head around to see something bright coming towards him from across the pond.

Noel had to narrow his eyes to see the shape clearer, but it looked like a person.

_Who else besides me would be out in something like this?_ Noel wondered, trying to find out who the person was.

"Me," the voice answered, making Noel's eyes widen when he realized who was talking to him.

Getting up, he saw the girl wave her hand and start to walk off. He ran around the pond and started to run after her, growing frantic when the girl started to run too.

"Yeul, wait up!" he shouted at his friend, but she continued her pace, just out of his reach.

"Follow me," her voice traveled back, making him try to run faster.

His lungs still burnt from all the running he had done before, but he still felt like he should follow her.

_After all, she wouldn't stop if I did,_ Noel thought realizing with dread that Yeul was getting further away from him.

Pushing himself to go faster as Yeul started to fade from view, Noel suddenly felt his vision spin and his feet collided with something hard, making him spiral sideways and onto the ground.

When his body hit the ground and pain spread through his left ankle, Noel instinctively lay there for a few moments as his body registered the pain.

_Stupid artificial rocks,_ Noel thought as he gritted his teeth, making sure to tell Hope that he could get rid of those.

Looking around, Noel realized that he couldn't see Yeul anymore, nor could he tell which direction she had gone.

Feeling somewhat frantic again, he started to get up, only to suck in a sharp breath when pain once again spread through his left ankle.

"Not sure if it's broken," Noel mumbled as he looked down at his ankle to see deep red seeping from a tear in his skin. Looking over at the rock, he saw the same deep red on a sharper part of it.

_Just great, I finally found Yeul, but then this has to happen,_ Noel thought as he gave up trying to move and just lay on the ground.

He knew that the longer he would lay there, the more blood he would lose and possibly had a chance of dying, but he didn't know the way back to his room, as well as feeling too weak now.

As he felt his consciousness start to fade, he felt something tugging at the back of his mind; another long forgotten memory.

* * *

_Noel started to run towards home, not really caring how his feet stung on the sharp rocks coming up from the ground. He knew that he would get yelled at for being so careless, but at that moment, he didn't really care._

_ All he had to do was get home to escape _them_._

_ It had been six months since his friends had burned at Dead Man's Peak, and six months since he had seen Yeul._

_ Ever since then, everybody in the town had started to act strange. They had started to avoid him at first, almost like he was something dangerous, like the one disease that was now spreading like wildfire through the villages._

_ When Noel had asked his mother about it, she had just said,_

_ "They are just grieving Noel. It is a miracle to everyone since you survived."_

_ Noel had never been so sure, since things had started to change about a month ago._

_ The villagers started to change. They started to take actions against him; harmful actions, and Noel didn't like it one bit. He always wondered what he had done wrong. The people always gave him the answer, but he didn't know why it was his fault._

Maybe because I survived?_ Noel always thought, but his mind could still not comprehend what was going on._

_ So far, his mother didn't know about what had been happening. If he got hurt during one of the "attacks", Noel would just tell her that he had fallen or something like that, not wanting to worry her. _

_ It worked every time, but he still couldn't forget the worry that was always present in her eyes when it happened._

_ Noel felt the air rush out of him as the ground suddenly sped towards him, making pain spread through him when he slammed into it._

_ Frantically looking behind him, Noel saw that the angry villagers were getting closer. Trying to ignore the pain, he got up and started running again, knowing that he was almost home and that he would soon be safe._

_ As soon as he saw the front door, he started to smile. But a moment later, a stone came whizzing past his head, followed by the sound of more stones._

_ "Mom!" Noel shouted frantically, fearing that the villagers were going to kill him this time._

_ He heard feet run from inside the house and then saw his mother appear at the door, a fearful look present in her eyes._

_ "Noel!" she shouted, making him run faster, feeling relieved when he felt her arms around him._

_ "Noel, what happened?" his mother whispered, making him feel still afraid when he realized that the footsteps of the villagers had not ceased this time._

_ "Let us in, Miss. Rosanne," one of the villagers, a big man with a thick mustache, stated coldly._

_ Noel felt his mother push him behind her, blocking the villagers' way into the house._

_ "What is going on here?" his mother asked the villagers. Noel peeked out at them from behind his mother, but he darted away from their glares as soon as he saw them._

_ "That boy is bad news, Rosanne," another villager said with a shake of their head._

_ "Yeah, no one could survive the fire except him. He's cursed by Yeul," a villager in the back shouted._

_ At the mention of his friend, Noel went and stood beside his mother._

_ "I'm not cursed by Yeul. She wouldn't do that. She's my friend. And she's actually really kind and pretty," as soon as the last sentence left his mouth, Noel felt his face start to heat up a bit._

_ The villagers then all started arguing and shouting again. Noel didn't listen because he was now getting worried that they would now tear down the house. When Noel thought he could take it no more, a loud voice interrupted them._

_ "Stop!" a voice shouted and the owner of the voice made its way through the crowd. Noel recognized the village doctor._

_ "What is going on here?!" the doctor shouted. The villagers all started to talk at once again, making Noel's head swim. His mother told him to go lie down, but Noel shook his head._

_ "One at a time, please," the doctor demanded, then hearing out the villagers and making them explain._

_ Noel felt his mother usher him inside and onto the bed._

_ "You stay here Noel, ok? I will be right back," his mother said softly, making him nod. He watched as his mother went back outside._

_ He could still hear the villagers and the doctor talking. Noel didn't bother to make sense of what they were saying; he never really liked what the villagers said about him. He heard the village doctor say one more thing to the villagers, and then all became quiet._

_ The doctor then came in to inspect his injuries._

_ "Noel, this has got to stop," the village doctor stated softly with a shake of his head. He saw his mother's eyes widen._

_ "But I never do anything. I never did," Noel stated in a whisper, wanting to cry. He looked away from his mother's sad gaze._

_ "This has happened before?" his mother questioned the doctor, who responded with a nod._

_ "Yes, unfortunately it has. I have no idea what provokes them, but I would guess by what they just told me that it was the fire," the doctor stated to his mother. Noel started to feel as if he wasn't included in the conversation anymore._

_ He let his senses dull, staring at a part of the wall. He was feeling somewhat tired when someone nudged him. He looked over to see the doctor._

_ "Noel, what did you see in the fire?" the doctor asked, making Noel try to remember through the stupor he was now going through._

_ "I saw the fire figures, and then I saw Yeul. She was really pretty, and she can sing really well…" Noel said but then yawned, exhausted from the ordeal._

_ The doctor nodded and looked at his mother._

_ "I'll take my leave then. Get some rest Noel," the doctor said as he started to walk out the door. His mother then followed after him, leaving Noel to his dreams._

* * *

I know, I'm really sorry about all of the flashbacks, but it is important. They are at least interesting, right? Anyway, this will probably be the only chapter I can update for this fanfiction this month since next week I am taking a trip to Lancaster (for those of you who read my other fanfictions, don't worry I will get a chapter out for those). I hope you enjoyed this chapter and please review!

-AnimeWolfGirl9


	6. Life Beat

**AnimeWolfGirl16:** Thanks! Here's the next chapter!

* * *

Chapter 6: Life Beat

Noel suddenly stirred despite feeling weak. He opened his eyes, but quickly shut them again when a harsh light spread through his line of vision.

"Noel!" he heard a voice shout, but to him, it sounded far away.

His leg burned like it was on fire, reminding him of all of the memories that had plagued for the past few days.

He felt the sunlight that currently had been burning his eyes darken, and he opened them to see Hope in front of him.

"Hope?" Noel asked in a weak voice. Hope leaned a bit closer to hear his friend.

"Yes, Noel?" he asked, feeling at a loss as to what to do about Noel's current situation.

"You can remove the artificial rocks," Noel answered as he felt himself go weak again and his vision started to dim, making him slip back into his memories.

* * *

_ "Mom, I'm home!" a ten year old Noel shouted as he walked through the door._

_ "I'm in here!" his mother called back to him from the small living room in their house._

_ Noel ran into the room to see his mother lying on the ruined couch, looking a bit pale._

_ "Mom, is everything ok?" Noel asked, feeling worried since his mother was usually cooking at this time._

_ "Yes, yes, I'm fine. I was just taking a little nap, was all," his mother stated as she slowly started to get up, but then she sat down again when she started to cough violently._

_ "Mom, you're sick," Noel stated as he made her lie back down, "don't worry, I'll make dinner."_

_ "Noel," his mother stated as he started to walk out of the room, "be careful, ok?"_

_ "Yep, I will," Noel stated as he walked into the kitchen, deciding to make potato soup. _

_Noel knew that his mother would be worried since he wasn't the best cook in the world. He could cook the food well enough, but it was how he usually got it to cook that worried his mother. _

_There was the one time he almost burnt down the small kitchen, and then that other time when he couldn't get the food off of the small fire stove because he forgot to put something to stop it from sticking on, but other than that, Noel knew he would be fine._

_As he mixed together the ingredients for the broth, he thought about what had been happening around him lately._

_People had been getting sick again, and Noel had known that people had gotten sick before, but this time it was worse. There was some kind of virus going around the small village that the doctor didn't know what to use to cure it._

_Noel realized that they were lucky since his family hadn't been affected by the disease so far._

_Noel then reached for the potatoes, but when his hand grasped one, he froze. He then brought his hand in front of him and stared at the potato and then at the broth, remembering that four years had passed since his friends had died in the fire. His family had eaten this same meal that night._

_Noel put the potato in the bowl containing the broth with a sigh and started to cut up the other one. Ever since his friends had died in the fire, no other children had been born. Most people had too much sickness in their house that if there was a kid of a young age, which was mostly the case, they usually got the virus and that was it._

"_It feels like I'm the only kid left," Noel mumbled to himself, knowing that that might be the case, since he knew that there were no other kids that reached close to his age since Silven and Ivan._

_Noel shook his head and took a deep breath, concentrating on cooking and finished up the meal. He then started to get out smaller wooden bowls and put them on the small table, but then he thought better that since his mother was sick, she shouldn't be moving around a lot._

_He quickly filled and picked up the bowls, grabbing two wooden spoons as he passed the entryway into the living room and brought them over to the couch. His mother accepted the bowl with a smile._

"_Thank you, Noel. This smells wonderful," his mother said before starting to eat, sometimes blowing on the spoon if it was too warm._

_Noel sat on the floor beside her, slowly sipping away at his soup while he thought on the past._

Noel suddenly felt something cut through his memories from the "real" world, something that made him feel like he was stirring again.

"Noel! You just have to hang in there for a little while longer!" he heard a faraway voice shout at him, making his head pulse.

Noel started to try and think through who the voice sounded like, but then he heard a different, more familiar one.

"It's ok, Noel. Don't worry, just rest. Everything will be fine," the voice said to him softly, sounding close and making him start to feel sleepy again.

He suddenly remembered who was speaking to him, but before he could say the name, he felt himself drift again, to a different time than the one previously dreamed.

* * *

_Noel lied down tiredly on the floor, exhausted from running the length to the doctor's house. He wanted to be in the room with his mother, but the doctor told him to leave so he could work._

_Despite the aching in his legs, Noel crawled over to his bed and managed to climb up it, then lying down against the thin blanket on top._

_His mother's condition had been worsening lately, making Noel very afraid. He didn't know why she was sick, or how she had gotten what she currently had since most people in the village didn't interact that often with others, but he knew that it was bad._

_He must have dozed off for a bit because he suddenly jolted up from the stupor he had been in when the door to his bedroom opened. The village doctor slipped inside, a sad expression on his face._

"_Noel, your mother wants to speak to you alone," the doctor stated before he slipped out of his bedroom and left the house._

_Noel sat on his bed for a few more moments, trying to get his mind to think properly._

"_She probably wants me to make dinner again," Noel mumbled, satisfied with his guess and went over to the door, slipping out into the living room._

_He saw his mother lying on the couch and, guessing that she was asleep, started to slip away towards the kitchen. _

_He was almost there when he felt himself run into something, almost knocking over a basket on the table. He lurched forward to catch it, but then he cringed at the loud noise it made when it was steadied from its fall._

"_Noel, is that you?" his mother asked weakly, making him feel bad._

"_Yes. Sorry if I woke you," Noel said as he walked over and sat near the cot the doctor had apparently set up, "I was just going to make dinner."_

"_You might want to make a smaller meal tonight then," his mother whispered as she stared at him, her words making him feel confused._

"_Why? You still need to eat, and even if you say you aren't hungry, I'm still going to make you eat at least something," Noel stated feeling a bit worried._

_His mother gave him a weak smile and her hand reached out to ruffle his hair slightly._

"_Look how much you've grown;" his mother said with a smile, "your father would be proud."_

_Noel started to worry even more since his mother was acting strange._

"_Mom, I'm going to go get the doctor again. If I run, I'll be able to catch up with him before he reaches his house," Noel said as he started to get up, but his mother stopped him by reaching for his hand._

"_That won't be necessary Noel," his mother said as she made him sit down again, "the poor man has already done all he can."_

_Noel suddenly felt fear enter into him._

"_What do you mean?" Noel asked, feeling afraid for the first time in a long time._

"_Noel, I'm sick," his mother said, making him confused._

"_Yes, I know that," Noel said, feeling puzzled, "but you're going to get better real soon, right?"_

_His mother averted her gaze, making fear rise up in him again._

"_You are going to get better soon, right?" Noel asked as he felt his throat start to close and wetness brimmed in his eyes, "You are going to get better; I'll make sure you do."_

_Noel then got up and lied down beside his mother, suddenly feeling very alone. He was staring at the wall when he felt his mother start to comb her fingers through his hair gently._

"_Noel, I don't want you to get sick too," his mother whispered, the sadness in her voice stabbing Noel's heart with pain._

"_I don't care," Noel whispered, "If I get sick too, then we could both get better."_

"_Noel…" his mother started before the room became quiet for a few moments, "Look at me."_

_Noel reluctantly sat up and stared at his mother, her blue eyes staring back at him._

"_Many things will happen in your life that I have no control of. I have tried to keep you from most harm, but things will come your way that you will have no control of either. People in your life will come and go, but it's the memories that you have of them that do not leave," his mother said in a whisper, making Noel want to cry, "You just remember to never give up hope, and keep striving towards your goal, no matter what forces stand in your way. You promise me that, alright?"_

_Noel nodded his head, tears once again brimming in his eyes, as he then lay down beside her and closed his eyes, feeling sleep invade his senses._

Somewhere through his half-sleep state, Noel heard that same, familiar voice speak,

"That's it Noel, just sleep."

* * *

I'm sorry that this is kind of late in the month, but things have been pretty hectic for me. Also, I'm sorry that this had more flashbacks of Noel's past than it did anything else, but they really are important. They will stop in a while, and then we can get on with the main story, but these are really important aspects of the story, so please just hang in there with me. And someone apparently doesn't want Noel to wake up; who do you think that is and what do you think their motives are? I'm sorry that you have so little evidence, but think it through for a bit, there are some hints of who it is in this chapter (Noel said that it was familiar, so it must be someone he knows/knew). And I just found out today that they have a book (in Japan) that has short stories or something like that about the different characters that fill in plot holes in the game, and that one of them is about Noel's past, but since I can't read Japanese (and because this could be considered an AU) I will not stop doing these flashbacks. Sorry if you were expecting that. Either way, please review and Happy Thanksgiving!

-AnimeWolfGirl9


	7. A New Family

**AnimeWolfGirl16:** Thanks! And good guesses, you might find out soon, but we will see. Sorry for the suspense!

* * *

Chapter 7: A New Family

_Noel looked at the world around him through his blurred vision. He heard the villagers say comforting things to him, even the ones that had attacked him once, but he did not hear them; didn't even understand them. _

_The people then would walk away, leaving him in his sorrow._

_All Noel could stare at was the cold slab of stone in front of him, bearing one name: "Rosanne"._

_Noel touched the stone bearing his mother's name, knowing that the once warm spirit now lay in the hard ground._

"_And now you have buried her too," Noel whispered, tears finally streaming down his face, as he thought of his two friends also being inhabitants of the ground._

_He felt an ache in his heart, making him feel somewhat sick. The stone in front of him blurred to a gray that engulfed his vision. He sat down on the ground, not wanting to return to the house that would bear so many familiar memories._

_Noel sat there, tears streaming from his eyes and landing on the ground below._

"_Never give up hope," his mother's voice entered his head, reminding him of his promise._

_By now, a thick fog engulfed the area around him, making a little ring around him and the stone._

"_How can I not give up?" Noel whispered, talking to the body that now lay in the ground, "I promised, but how can I not?"_

_Noel didn't expect an answer, but was surprised when he heard one._

"_Because things will get better," a voice said softly from behind him, bringing a familiar warmth with it._

_Noel turned from where he sat on the ground, seeing a girl that he hadn't seen in five years._

"_Yeul," he whispered, feeling somewhat better now that his friend was here, "What do you mean?"_

"_Things will get better," Yeul repeated, coming to sit beside him and staring at the stone. She then pulled something out from behind her and placed it in front of the stone; Noel saw that it was a white flower._

"_What do you want me to do?" Noel whispered the question to her, and when she did not reply, he continued, "Silven said you chose me. What do you want me to do?"_

_Yeul looked at him, a somewhat sad expression on her face, matching the pang of sadness that entered him when he mentioned his friend._

_The girl did not answer him; instead she started to arrange the flower in front of the stone._

"_Things will get better," Yeul repeated softly, then turning her gaze to his, "I promise."_

_Noel wanted to yell, asking how it was fair, how things would get better. But he didn't. Instead, he just accepted the comfort her presence brought._

_Noel knew the villagers would wait a few days to continue their tirade against him. He knew he would probably die, since no one could protect him anymore, not even the doctor._

_He eventually returned to the house, not taking anything, but instead just sleeping and eating in the dwelling. An empty feeling had come on him since Yeul had left, making him wonder how he could continue, but his promise to his mother and Yeul's to him gave him some hope._

_Fear entered through Noel every time he went through the streets of the town. He was now on high alert, expecting something to come attack him at any moment. The only semi-safe place he had was the house, but he knew that the villagers would invade there too._

_So he bided his time, trying to make up a plan of what to do._

"_I need to find Yeul," Noel whispered while he was once again walking through the town. He thought it was simple, but his ten year old mind couldn't comprehend on how to find her. She seemed to be constantly moving around, never staying in the same place._

"_Wait! This is madness!" he heard a voice, the village doctor's, in the distance behind him._

_He turned around, seeing the doctor trying to make his way to the front of an angry crowd._

_Noel stared at the scene that was coming ever closer to him, knowing that it was now time to leave. Hoping to get a head start, Noel started to run once again._

_It wasn't long before the villagers caught up to him; he could only run so far and his legs weren't as long as theirs. He could hear their victory shouts behind him, coming ever closer._

I'm sorry,_ he thought with sadness as the footsteps grew closer, knowing that he wasn't going to be able to outrun them._

_The familiar feeling of fear pulsed through his veins, giving him some strength to run farther._

_His breath was now coming in short gasps, making it somewhat hard to breath. His chest was now hurting, making him want to stop running._

_Noel glanced ahead of him and saw that he was nearing Dead Man's Peak. He continued to run, knowing that he couldn't go much farther._

_He felt something hit his foot and his world went spinning, along with a series of sharp pains as little rocks dug into his skin._

_Noel felt sick. He suddenly wanted to cry, wanted it to end right there; now remembering all the pain of his friends' and mother's deaths._

Please,_ he silently begged as he noticed the angry crowd coming down the hill._

_Noel stayed where he was, knowing he didn't have enough strength to continue. All he did was stare as the crowd continued to get closer._

_Noel closed his eyes, feeling the shadows coming from the crowd falling on him; turning his line of vision black._

_He expected to feel pain, but not in the way he did next. His eyes suddenly jolted open when he felt heat coming from in front on him, coming from a giant wall of fire that was blocking the crowd's path._

_Noel stared at the fire for a moment, feeling surprised as he inched away from the intense heat, before having a thought._

Yeul,_ he remembered that she controlled the flames,_ is she here?

_His question was answered when he turned around and saw Yeul standing a few feet away from him, her light green eyes holding some anger in them._

_She skipped over to him and pulled him up by his hand, pulling him over to the overhang area Noel had heard of in the story of Dead Man's Peak._

"_What- ?" Noel started to ask but Yeul put her finger to her lips, signaling for him to be silent._

_The wall of flames died down, letting Noel see that the crowd was searching for him; spreading out to search the area._

"_Come," Yeul whispered as she gently tugged him away from the scene. He followed, wondering where they were going._

"_Yeul, where are we going?" he asked, voicing his thoughts._

_She continued to walk ahead of him, skipping a bit. They were now walking at a calmer pace; the crowd was no longer chasing them. Noel looked back at the scene to see little shapes of where the crowd was searching for him._

_He shuddered, more out of relief than cold. Yeul glanced back at him before finally answering._

"_Home," she said softly before continuing to walk, making Noel wonder if they were heading back to his house._

No,_ he thought as he looked at the bare ground, _my home is behind us. We are going to Yeul's home.

"_We are here," Yeul announced suddenly, making Noel look around intently. What he saw was a small campground; a fire pit was at its center, surrounded by three animal skins that he guessed were used for beds._

"_Why are there three?" Noel asked, pointing to the beds. He wondered if there were other people with Yeul. He tried to think back to the legend, but didn't remember Silven saying anything about that._

"_One for me, one for Caius, and one for you," Yeul said as she pointed out the beds and then to Noel._

_Noel's thoughts swam, wondering who and where this 'Caius' was._

_Noel continued to look around the campsite. Yeul sat down and Noel followed, watching as his friend stared at the slowly dimming fire._

_His thoughts wandered, but he soon found himself staring at Yeul's eyes._

She's really pretty;_ he thought but then blushed, wondering if Yeul was uncomfortable with his staring._

_He was about to ask her something when her eyes seemed to change. He stared closer, wondering what was going on._

There's some sort of symbol in her eyes,_ Noel thought as he memorized the symbol into his memory._

_Yeul suddenly gasped, startling him as he backed away. She fell onto her side, breathing heavily and staring ahead of her._

_Noel started to panic. He crawled over to her side and touched her arm._

"_Yeul?" he asked in a whisper, feeling fear course through him when she didn't answer._

_He heard footsteps behind him, accompanied by an angry voice._

"_How did you find this place?" the voice asked, filled with anger._

_Noel turned around and saw a tall man with a big sword through his blurred vision. Tears fell from Noel's eyes._

"_Please help her," Noel begged the man, "I can't lose anyone else. I think she's sick…"_

_The man looked behind Noel to wear Yeul was lying, a guarded fear entering the man's eyes._

"_What have you- ?" the man started to walk forward but stopped, taking note of the symbol in Yeul's eyes._

_Noel looked back and forth between Yeul and the man, feeling his heart hammering in his chest when the man just stood there._

"_Are you going to just let her die?!" Noel screamed at the man, anger and sadness filling him. He didn't want to lose anyone else._

"_Wait and be quiet," the man ordered him with a cold look. Noel felt anger burning inside of him, but he stayed quiet and watched. He felt relieved when he noticed Yeul's breathing start to even out; the symbol slowly fading from her eyes._

"_Another long one," the man spoke suddenly as he stared at Yeul. The girl nodded, out of breath and weakened._

"_Are you ok, Yeul?" Noel asked Yeul as the man helped her up. He wanted to hear her answer him, but his vision suddenly swam accompanied by a stinging pain on the right side of his face._

_His hand went to grip the burning flesh; he looked up to see the man staring angrily at him._

"_Look what you have done!" the man yelled at him, making tears border on Noel's vision again, "You have changed everything!"_

_Noel started to back away when the man started to walk towards him, but the man stopped._

"_Caius," Yeul said from behind the man, "he is the one."_

_The man, Caius, seemed to look at him in surprise for a moment before walking back to Yeul's side._

"_What is your name?" Caius asked him, no longer seeming threatening to Noel._

"_Noel," he answered as he stared at the man's purple eyes. The man nodded, and then looked at Yeul._

"_So it has already happened?" Caius asked Yeul, who nodded in sadness._

_Caius then looked at him, before motioning with his hand._

"_Come," Caius said as he started to walk off, but Yeul stopped him again._

"_Caius, he is tired," Yeul said softly, making both of them glance at her, "it can wait until tomorrow."_

_Caius seemed like he was going to object, but he then walked over to the fire and started to drop wood into it; making it reheat into a bright flame. It was then that Noel realized how late it was; the sun was already setting behind the landscape._

_Noel looked over and saw that Caius and Yeul were getting into the animal skin beds. He followed, feeling somewhat awkward with his new 'family'._

_He glanced over at Yeul, wondering what had happened, when he remembered what Silven had told him: that Yeul could see the future._

_He saw that the vale that normally was across her face was gone, letting down her long hair._

_He then glanced at the fire, letting the flames lull him to a peaceful sleep._

* * *

I'm sorry for not updating for a few months; I got extremely busy with life and my other fanfictions. I was going to make this chapter longer, but I felt bad about not updating and thought this was a good place to stop. I promise that the next chapter will be out in February. Also, I am hoping to end the extremely long flashbacks in a few chapters. I thank you for being so patient with me, but these really are important. If there are flashbacks in the future, it will either be an extremely small one, or one that Noel couldn't remember at this time that's important for later. I thank you for bearing with me on all of these flashbacks and I hope you will tell me your comments and thoughts in a review!

-AnimeWolfGirl9


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